Read on Twitter
I’m starting a thread to document how the #COVID19 pandemic has enabled the passing of legislations that impinge on citizens’ democratic freedoms globally, or allow the executive to assume disproportionate powers vis-à-vis citizens. https://twitter.com/vsirnate/status/1244493943598911488
USA (not implemented yet): DoJ asks for power to detain people indefinitely without trial during emergencies. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/21/doj-coronavirus-emergency-powers-140023
USA: Kentucky, South Dakota, West Virginia. Criminalization of anti-fossil fuel protests https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5e7e7570c5b6256a7a2aab41/amp
Texas: Abortion ban during pandemic upheld citing conservation of PPE. Lawsuits filed https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2020/03/appeals-court-oks-texas-abortion-ban-coronavirus-outbreak-200331194608190.html
“In Serbia, President Aleksandar Vucic announced an open-ended state of emergency on March 15, while its parliament has been sidelined, borders shut, and 12-hour police-enforced curfews have been enforced.” https://www.google.com/amp/s/inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/coronavirus-in-europe-dictator-viktor-orban-hungary-analysis-rule-by-decree-2524695%3famp
Israel: Netanyahu buying time in a power grab. Knesset suspended, postpones own trial by suspending courts, increases surveillance. Protestors arrested. https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/03/israel-benjamin-netanyahu-avigdor-liberman-coronavirus.html
Turkmenistan: the oddest one yet. Say “coronavirus” get taken away by authorities. Freedom of speech implications. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/turkmenistan-fights-covid-19-by-banning-the-word-coronavirus/
Slovakia: stepping up surveillance to ensure quarantine. Huge privacy breach. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/64539a44-6e87-11ea-89df-41bea055720b
INDIA: Govt. attempts media censorship by invoking Disaster Management Act. Request quashed in SC. However, many will capitulate anyway. https://www.google.com/amp/s/cpj.org/amp/033592.html
Australia: Amps up phone tracking of cases https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/tech/2020/03/26/coronavirus-surveillance-civil-liberties/
Venezuela: Nicolas Maduro reasserts control amidst charges. https://amp.economist.com/the-americas/2020/04/02/the-unintended-consequences-of-indicting-nicolas-maduro?__twitter_impression=true
USA: executive order to screw over the moon with mining. This could have serious implications for a future resource race in space https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/07/trump-mining-moon-executive-order
INDIA: sex determination test ban suspended until June 30. https://m.telegraphindia.com/india/coronavirus-pandemic-sex-test-ban-suspended/cid/1763017
China: imposed restrictions on publication of research about SARS-Cov2 https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/12/asia/china-coronavirus-research-restrictions-intl-hnk/index.html
Philippines: President shuts down ABN-CBN TV network https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/world/asia/duterte-philippines-tv-network-ABS-CBN.html
Bangladesh: Journalists and cartoonists arrested for critical coverage of #COVID19 https://rsf.org/en/news/bangladeshi-journalists-cartoonist-arrested-covid-19-coverage
USA: Non-discrimination protections in healthcare and health insurance rolled back for LGBTQ persons. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/06/12/868073068/transgender-health-protections-reversed-by-trump-administration?t=1592217891697
India: journalists under attack for reporting on Covid 19. https://m.thewire.in/article/media/covid-19-journalists-arrested-booked-report/amp?__twitter_impression=true
HR activist killed 
